


Café au Chagrin

by Ihniwid



Category: Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard - Rick Riordan
Genre: F/M, Fluff, M/M, MCGA, Pining, and Alex is flawless as always, and Sam is all of us, fierrochase, in which Magnus is denial, scheming over coffee™, takes place sometime after Hammer of Thor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-24
Updated: 2017-06-24
Packaged: 2018-11-17 02:47:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,627
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11266341
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ihniwid/pseuds/Ihniwid
Summary: Great.Not only does he have to figure out what in Midgard is going on with Alex, but now he's getting interrogated by Samirah about it over coffee and pastry bags.Not only that, but she seems to know something he doesn't.And what's up with the birds around here?This is.....just great.





	Café au Chagrin

**Author's Note:**

> First MCGA fic, first fic published on ao3. I refuse to let the fierrochase tag only have 28 works, mostly incomplete, and I will singlehandedly populate this tag if it KILLS me
> 
> JOIN THE CAUSE fierrochasing.tumblr.com
> 
> Takes place sometime in between the events of Hammer of Thor and Ship of the Dead, at the coffee shop from the beginning of Hammer.

Magnus Chase supposes this counts as a restful day.

He'd just woken up about an hour ago, groaning and preparing for another breakfast food-fight-to-the-death, when a rusty croak announced a raven flying out of his atrium. After some good old-fashioned breadcrumb bribery, a small scroll tied to its ankle revealed an invitation- well, an order, really- to meet Samirah al-Abbas at the Thinking Cup for coffee and scones. None of this in particular is unusual, but Magnus does squint at the small _OR ELSE!_ scribbled into the margin.

 _This is a little odd._ He sends the raven away with the last of a piece of toast, keeping the scroll and staring down as if it might start talking- and tell him what in Midgard was going on with everyone.

_"Hey Magnus, Mallory and TJ keep snickering at you at dinner because you have a gigantic wart on the tip of your nose!"_

Nope. He'd never had a wart in his life- maybe it was a healing powers thing? 

_"Samirah's probably taking time out of her loaded schedule so she can tell you Odin wants someone else to handle your mission. Someone who can fight, instead of the human Band-Aid!"_

_Geez, that's just overthinking it_ , he overthinks, and shakes his head. It's probably just a new lead on Naglfar.

_"And Alex is avoiding you because she finally realized you're incompetent, and she-!"_

Okay. 

He might be insecure, but he isn't self-destructive. Thinking like that isn't going to get him anywhere. 

Though of course, thinking about Alex Fierro just derailed his entire brain anyways. He hasn't seen her signature pink-and-green anywhere in the past few days. And though he thinks he might've seen someone in the corner of his eyes- nothing was ever there when he turned around. Probably just a bug.

He blames sleep deprivation.

Magnus checks himself. _Not that I'm losing sleep._ He's just.

Concerned.

It was probably time to head off, anyways. He pulls on his usual jeans and Hotel Valhalla brand t-shirt and jacket. And on the way out, he definitely, definitively, does not stop at Alex’s door. He completely, totally, strides out the hotel lobby without thinking about knocking, or leaving a note, or-or anything.

Nothing at all. 

Just like there is verifiably, justifiably, not a violet-green swallow on that branch. Anyone with half a mind and an ornithology handbook would tell you that those birds belonged in Oregon. And anyone with the other half of that mind would tell you that it was clearly, obviously, _not_ following Magnus.

\--------------------{~}--------------------

 

Samirah was early.

She sits at a small table outside the Thinking Cup, sipping at a mug of _café au lait_ and looking generally deep in thought. Sam smiles as Magnus jaywalks across the street, and he's immediately on high alert.

_ABORT MISSION. That is a SCHEMING smile, Magnus, ABORT M-_

“Magnus!”

It's too late. 

“Hey, Sam,” he pulls out a chair and eyes the chocolate scones and- hold on, is that falafel?

She catches his gaze and does… _that_ smile again. “I brought some over from Amir’s, hope you don't mind.”

Okay, first of all- in what universe would he MIND falafel, and second- what is going on?

“Any updates on Naglfar? Odin say anything?”

Samirah’s brows knit together for a second before she sighs and shakes her head.

"No, just more of the same. Annabeth get back to you?"

"Nothing yet."

She hums in consideration. 

A few tables away, a middle-aged businessman leans on his hand, lecturing his date on politics and what must have been a _fascinating_ critique of the current state of civil rights. 

"Like, the whole Stonewall thing wasn't enough? Now you want _pronouns_? It's ridic-"

Magnus tightens his grip on his falafel bag, and Samirah is more than ready to join him, but before he can say anything, a passing bird beats him to it.

The man practically leaps out of his seat, waving frantically for a waiter. All Magnus hears before Sam relaxes and catches his eye again is something about a refund, a bird crapping in his tea, and definitely a "I want to see the MANAGER" spiel.

Samirah is looking at him carefully, as if solving a difficult puzzle. 

"Score for the bird," he jokes, trying to distract her... slightly unnerving gaze.

"Magnus." She leans in suddenly, dead serious.

 _Here it comes._ His mind races with what "it" could possibly be, and why his brain seems so glued to it.

"What do you think of Alex?"

Wait. What?

Magnus' train of thought didn't even have time to screech to a halt. It braked, flew off the track, rolled several times into a nearby river, demolishing a carefully constructed bridge and leaving no survivors aside from a very confused blond kid.

Who is apparently paralyzed.

"Magnus? Are you-"

A siren starts going off somewhere in Magnus Land, sending all inhabitants scattering.

"Is this about how she's avoiding me? I mean probably, otherwise this is an odd main topic of conversation for a coffee meetup, even though I'm not even drinking coffee? Well I'm not drinking anything, but I could if you wanted to stay here longer but there's no reason to stay here longer because I don't know why she's avoiding me I don't think I did anything but what if I did do something, wait, you would tell me, right? This is what this is for okay what did I do wrong, I'm sorry, or, um, what can I do? To- I'm sorry, I think- what?"

He breaks off his steam engine explosion of word vomit, realizing that Samirah is barely holding back a laugh.

"It's not funny," he mutters, burying his sorrows in another bite of falafel. Falafel would never laugh at his pain.

"Magnus." Her eyes glitter. "I don't think I've ever said your name this much in a conversation, but you need to calm down."

"I'm calm."

"I can see that."

He lets out a shaky _huff_ of breath, to demonstrate how calm he is. Cool. And unconcerned. About any of this. About....about Alex Fierro, and who she may or may not choose to avoid. That's her business, and it doesn't concern him. So it shouldn't be concerning.

So why was it?

Samirah seems to have a direct line to his thoughts, frowning and taking sips of the steaming mug in front of her. Magnus loses himself in the subtle curls of rising steam.

"I'm going to be honest," she says, setting the coffee on the table. "I think you have something you need to tell me."

His head spins. "What?" _About Alex? Was something wrong? Had anything happened?Is she-_

"C'mon, Magnus. Did something happen?"

He pauses. Maybe this was about why he hadn't seen her in days. Maybe...maybe something did happen?

Magnus sighs, fiddling with Jack's pendant while he tries to think of something to say.

Finally: "What did I do?"

She frowns, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I did something. Annoying, offensive, I don't know, but Alex hates me. I haven't seen her in days, Sam. _Days._ She has to be okay, right? Or-or she would've left something behind, and I know she's still at the Hotel, because her room is locked, and I asked the housekeeper for Floor 19 and he-"

The more he spoke, the farther Samirah's face fell, her expression of confusion turning into deadpan exhaustion.

"Wait. You're telling me you haven't seen Alex in _days_? And, ahem, SHE-" she seems to say this last part loudly, startling some nearby birds- "HAS NOT seen YOU?"

"Okay, you don't have to shout- and no, she's probably... she's probably seen me," he sets down the pastry bag, trying to swallow both the gluten and his heart. "She just- I guess she's avoiding me."

Samirah al-Abbas _snorts_.

Okay, now this is veering into strange territory. "You know something I don't?"

"I think so!" 

She grins, and Magnus is distracted again in spite of himself by indignant chirping. Sam returns to seriousness.

"But wait, back up," she holds out a hand. "Full stop. You think...Alex Fierro hates YOU, Magnus Chase?"

"Well... y-yeah?"

There's a beat.

Samirah steeples her fingers, taking a long, world-weary sigh. "Let's take this slowly. One, why do you think she hates you?"

"She's avoiding me."

"Alright, why do you think she's avoiding you? Did you make her mad?"

"I don't- I don't think so? But... maybe I did?"

Sam looks nonplussed. Magnus can't help it, though- he really doesn't know what he did wrong. 

"That's inconclusive."

"Maybe I didn't do anything wrong, maybe she just doesn't like me."

"Why wouldn't she like you?"

Magnus waves his hands in the ASL equivalent of _I DON'T KNOW!_

"Maybe she just realized that she's way cooler than me."

Now Sam looked interested, like someone searching for blackmail. She ignores a nearby fight among birds. 

"Cooler than you?" Eyebrow raise.

Magnus flusters. "I mean, yeah? She's the best fighter on our floor, and she's been there for less than a month! She can beat Halfborn at hand-to-hand- trust me, I've seen it, and let's just say he doesn't call her 'unwomanly' anymore- she's brave enough to take down an earth giant at her own wedding and still look _amazing_ in the gown-"

Sam is making the 'kid at Christmas' face, and Magnus realizes what he just said.

"I mean! Wait! Of course she looked amazing in the gown, I mean she always looks amazing, she's never not looked amazing, except maybe when she cut my head off, well even th-"

Click.

"I mean!" Sam wonders if someone be white as a sheet and red as a tomato at the same time. "Not like I'm paying attention to that kind of thing! We're hallmates. On a hammer-rescue mission. One that just so happens to involve tuxes, and wedding dresses, and okay maybe one of the hallmates looks better in the wedding dresses than the other looks in a tux, and maybe he thinks about it but that doesn't- it's an aesthetic thi- Samirah!"

She's completely lost it, and almost never recovers to make her last inquiry.

"And that brings us to number three. Did you actually just use 'looks amazing' as a reason that Alex wouldn't like you?"

Oh.

"Oh," he says.

"Oh?" Sam's eyes shine with both mirth and secondhand embarrassment.

_Oh._

Magnus is shot back to the first time he met Alex Fierro. She'd just been dumped in a bag, by ravens, in weasel form. And yet when she looked him in the eyes, glaring like doing so might set him and the rest of Valhalla on fire- he couldn't breathe.

Looking back, he had been pretty bad at that whole 'inhaling and exhaling' thing for the rest of the quest for Thor's Netflix account.

From DIY bowling bag embroidery to Sif's dress fittings, Alex had been there. Convincing his lungs that they didn't necessarily _need_ air to live. And truthfully? Oxygen felt overrated compared to Alex's hair; Alex's smile; Alex Fierro saying "Maggie" with a quirk of her mouth and shining eyes; Alex Fierro resisting the powers of a verifiable god, not mention her abusive father, for a cause that she'd been a part of for less than a week; Alex Fierro watching him walk in with a haircut and a silly tux and laughing like bells that stole breath, air, oxygen, anything at all that distracted from that sound and that sound alone, and...

"Oh."

Sam looks at him and sees the fitting of gears.

"So- feel any differently on that front?"

"I," he swallowed, "have a crush on Alex Fierro, don't I?"

She closes her eyes in a very zen moment. All is right in the world of Samirah al-Abbas. "Yup, Magnus Chase, that you do."

There's a yelp from above, and Magnus catches a glance of definitely-not-a-bird falling before Sam gives him a 'hold that thought' gesture and shoots up to catch it. She floats back down with someone in a bridal carry, and Magnus forgets his whole New Year's resolution on that breathing thing in favor of jumping out of his seat and staring.

"Oh," says Alex Fierro.

"Oh," says Magnus.

" **OH** ," says Alex, promptly leaping out of Sam's arms and sprinting away.

He realizes faintly that he's not moving, but neither his legs nor his mouth can feel anything other than jelly.

Sam stands quite calmly, finishing off the last dregs of her coffee and brushing pastry crumbs from her hijab. 

"Alright, that's my part. She wanted to know why you were staring."

"Th- I'm- Uh," he sputters. "Oh."

"Is that going to be a catchphrase now?"

"She heard all of that."

"Yep."

"Oh."

"Go."

" **OH**." He runs.

Samirah shakes her head and gathers pastry bags. 

"Kids today."

\--------------------{~}--------------------

After a few hours of apologizing to random birds on the Boston streets, Magnus returns to Hotel Valhalla and grinds to a halt outside Alex's door.

Fist hovering. Eyes wide.

And afraid. Very, _very_ much so.

Before he can make up his mind to knock or flee the country, the door swings inwards and leaves him face to face with a surprised and rapidly reddening Alex Fierro. There's a few beats of tense silence, both sides of the divide drawing a complete blank on conversation starters.

Alex gathers his strength."I-"

"I'm sorry."

He seems dazed. "What?"

"I didn't mean to- oh man." Magnus closes his eyes on the top of a cliff, and forces himself to take in a breath before it all tumbles out.

"I didn't mean to mess anything up or-or make it weird, I know you hate being stared at and I know that I stare at stuff when I space out and think about it, so I-" _shit did he just admit he's been thinking about Alex- wait, he already heard everything at the Thinking Cup, so dID HE HEAR MAGNUS TELL SAM- shitshitshitshit- breathe._

"I should've... I don't know. But I'm sorry. This- I won't let this get in the way of the quest, or bother you, you don't even have to talk to me." A sudden thought struck him, and he started laughing nervously at himself as he just... _kept talking_. " _Mienfretr,_ you were avoiding me because you knew and didn't want to hurt my feelings- I'm sorry, this is so- I'm just an idiot, Alex, I'm-" 

Magnus cuts himself off at the look in the other boy's eyes. Alex seems frozen into a travel magazine cutout- the glass walkway over the Grand Canyon, where someone is looking down like they think they're already going headfirst, where he knows he walked out here on his own but still doesn't know how to get back, and he's tumbling either way. 

"Hey," he breathes. "I think I love you." 

Magnus skips the walkway fee and steps off the edge. The air rushing past felt like his thoughts finally catching up to him, mentally face-palming in a whooshing chorus of _oh, duh!_

The two of them meet in the middle of the chasm, and suddenly Alex is real and close and here and he feels the most alive he's felt since even before the whole Valhalla thing. And he decides right then and there: he is completely, irrevocably, and hopelessly in love with Alex Fierro. 

Then again, had he jumped, or had he just now noticed he was falling? 

(Alex, the next day in the dining hall- one arm slung around Magnus' waist, the other half heartedly slugging Halfborn for snickering- will remember precisely how great a half-sister Samirah al-Abbas is. Sam, for her part, will not let Alex forget this for the rest of her afterlife. 

Magnus will tell a bad joke, Alex will laugh, and they'll both fall further. 

And they're both very, very glad they jumped.) 


End file.
